Chance Report and another Cover

Still Sore in His Heels

My vet was out yesterday to look at Chance. On the plus side, Chance was perfectly willing to trot on the lunge which was a big improvement. On the down side, he still is sore in the front. This time it was the right front.

My vet did a heel nerve block and he went sound on that foot. But he was still landing toe first on the left front. Theory is that he is protecting his heels.

We can't yet do a new Lyme titer as we have to wait for about 2 months. In the meantime, we are going to try either bar shoes or natural balance wedge shoes to see how that works. Hate the idea, but if it makes my boy feel better, that's good.

Did I tell you I had a Lyme test and it was negative? Now I am waiting to see how my allergy tests came out.

Meantime, the next novel cover.

Chance News And....

The Fourth Cover

My vet is coming today--Friday--to look at Chance. 48 days of antibiotics and to be honest, my boy does not look sound yet. He is short strided and I think I saw a bit of a limp. Not sure what the next step is at this point. IV antibiotics are generally listed for acute cases, but we shall see. I'm not sure how to handle all that.

I will post later with results.

On to the books. I have titled the last book you saw as "Honor's Way."  Up for grabs now is the third long novel. So I am posting both covers for your perusal.

Another Cover

But What's the Title?

OK, as I said, I actually have about seven completed novels or novelettes to publish. Remember, I started writing back in 1984, so this is not all that impressive.

Anyhow. Two stories/novelettes that bridge the story between the first two main novels are called: "Vows" and "Everafter."  They chronicle the rather complex adventures where my hero, Jamus, and his love, Salene, try to get married and have a honeymoon. Needless to say, there are forces in the world that do not believe in allowing them to have an easy time of it. (How could a fantasy novel go any other way?)

Anyhow, my amazing friend Dave has created the cover for the combined stories.  I could simply call it "Vows" or something else....short. We don't want to ruin the cover art with a long title. So, any suggestions appreciated.

Here is the cover. Dave still wants to tweak a few things, but I love it.....

Kind of sums it all up....

Planning Ahead and Chance Looks Good

So Far.....

So good. I lunged Chance for about five minutes this morning. There may have been a little "hitch" in his right hind when he started but it seemed to work out. The biggest problem was the flies. Deer flies from the woods kept attacking him, so he was fussy and unsteady that way. Did not really see any lameness.

I need to take him out after dark when it cools off....hot and humid today already by 9AM.  That way I can evaluated him better without his fly sheet on. Last time I tried to lunge him without the sheet, he got attacked by the B52 bomber fly and was completely frantic.

We have had quite a bit of rain this summer, making it super good breeding conditions for all kinds of bitey flies. They are most happy to gnaw on the horses and me whenever they get the chance.

I also have a fence repair to do. The well pit in the front paddock was fenced in...until sometime last night. Somebody not only broke on of the fence posts but he also dragged three loose fence rails about 15 feet away under the apple tree and the post itself along with another attached rail to the same spot.  This took a bit of effort and smacks of Chancework. I'd like to think he's the culprit, mostly becuase it would mean he's feeling better. Then again, could be all three conspired.  Who knows?

Ah well, work ahead. Don't have an extra post on hand, I don't think. Have to figure something out. In the meantime, I've managed a temporary fix with baling twine kind of holding things together. What would a farm be without baling twine? *G*

Planning ahead. we are working on the cover for the second novel. Here is a version. Comments?

Not Much New

All's Well At Follywoods

Still treating Chance with the antibiotics--a week to go. Last time I lunged him, he looked pretty good. I am hoping all will be well.

On my front, my doctor at the chiro office talked me out of the Lyme test, but my regular chiropractor talked me back into it, so I am going to my primary care doctor to see if she will order one. In the meantime, I am going back to the chiro doctor--he is a regular physician--to have him order allergy tests which can be done there by another doctor specialist. My chiropractor said sometimes knee/joint replacements trigger allergies in people that can have all kinds of impacts.

Current thinking is that some of the issues with my knees, my hip, and other joint aches might be allergy related if not Lyme. I am certainly pretty darn functional, so it's not that I can't do things, but joints do get sore and my knees actually get some swelling. Could well just be due to old injuries to the ligaments that remain, but I would like to eliminate causes I might be able fix a little better.

Neural therapy and prolotherapy worked for a while, and more prolo might be a good option to tighten the ligaments, but I am already paying off a pretty hefty medical bill there--insurance won't pay for "experimental treatments"--and would rather not run it up any higher. So, it's a wait and see.

I finally took a short walk in the field roads yesterday, first one since the hip. Felt pretty good for about 20 minutes of hiking. If I can keep it up along with the swimming which is fine, I think I can trim myself down a bit more. Gained a few pounds after the hip thing. Not a lot, but annoying after having lost so much.

Still have not ridden. I'm waiting for Chance. Then I will see how it feels. Might still be uncomfortable with the hip. I'm amazed at how long it's taking for the muscle to quite complaining, but from everything I've read it's quite normal. Yuck.

The final book in my fantasy series is nearly done. As soon as I finish, I will be going back to Book #1...the one with the cover I posted...and get it into final format for Amazon. So, I'm still on schedule to get it into publication before October. Should be fun.

After it's published, the next one is a collection of novelettes that bridge the story between novels 1 & 2. Then, novel 2 itself,  another novelette and then the final two main novels. The third book will probably be done in two volumes as it's really long.

I am determined to get them all done and published. They've been sitting far too long.

And I've been sitting far too long. Exercise program is on the upswing...at least for now.

One More Time

Hate to Be Boring But:

One more cover option. I think this is the one:
Just need to center my name a bit better.

Latest Version of Cover

How Do You Like This?

Of Horses And Novels

What Do You Think?

First on the horse front. Chance's improvement is spotty. The other day, I lunged him and he looked really good. Then, a few days later, when I went out for late night feed, he was lying down napping under the apple tree. I had to go out to invite him in for feed. When he got up he was really stiff. I have not lunged him since but he's been looking better again.

My little research with Lyme says that sometimes horses have a toxic reaction to the dead spirochete. This may be what's happening.

I also found some information that people with Lyme are being treated with invermectin, the worming medication. When I called my vet to be sure it was OK to give Chance his required worming while on the antibiotics....it was....I asked him if he'd heard of this. He promised to look into it for me. He had already planned on calling me next week to check on Chance's progress, so perhaps he'll know something then. Gotta love my vet. He really does care about his clients.

On to the book front, literally. I have written a series of fantasy novels. I will be self-publishing them through Amazon. I did send the first book out to publishers several years ago, with no luck. I had an editor/agent who started to read it as a favor but she did not have the time to devote to it. Since then the fantasy market has collapsed and risen again. I finally decided that self-publishing was the better option especially since Amazon offers it for no cost.

The book will be offered in Kindle as well as on demand published softcover. I still need to do one more formatting and proof reading before I publish. My friend has some digital software create a cover. So far this is the design. I am putting up two versions. The first without the title, the second with. Now, on the second, my friend decided to feature my name as is done with many famous authors. I think the book's title should be at the top, with my name at the bottom. Hopefully, he will make up a cover that way. But, in the meantime, I would like your opinions. I have also suggested a slightly simpler font if we can find a free one to use.

Do you think this cover will invite people to buy my book??

Looks kinda cool to me, but we've been working on it for a week or so and both I and my friend are a bit prejudiced at this time.

The hero is Jamus, a magician and his horse, Whim, is a silver stallion he created out of the wind and mist. Horses play a significant role in the story but it really is much more about people and the magic itself.

This is book #1 of a four novel series. There will be four books altogether. There is also a collection of 4 more shorter novelettes that serve as bridges between the main novels...at least between books 1 & 2.

Thanks in advance for any and all opinions.